Osprey 'black box' from fatal Japan crash that killed 8 recovered with data intact, Air Force says
The Air Force has recovered the flight data recorder from the Air Force CV-22B Osprey that crashed off the coast of Japan in late November, and the data is intact โ which could provide valuable clues for investigators as to what caused the crash.
Air Force disciplines 15 as IG finds that security failures led to massive classified documents leak
The Air Force inspector general says the massive classified documents leak by a service member this year was made worse by the intentional failure of multiple officials to take required action on his suspicious behavior.
What we know about the Marine Corps F-35 crash, backyard ejection and what went wrong
The crash of an F-35B Joint Strike Fighter aircraft in South Carolina over the weekend has raised numerous questions about what prompted the pilot to eject after experiencing a malfunction and how the $100 million warplane was able to keep flying pilotless for 60 miles before crashing.
Houston Truck group donates more than $100k to Military Charity
Proving everything in Texas is bigger, a Houston truck club has donated more than $100,000 to Tomball-based veterans and active duty military charity, Boots For Troops. Houston Diesels started in 2015 with just a handful of diesel truck enthusiasts.
Military suicides drop as leaders push new programs
A new report and Pentagon data show that suicides across the active duty U.S. military decreased over the past 18 months, driven by sharp drops in the Air Force and Marine Corps last year and a similar decline among Army soldiers during the first six months of this year.
US Army misses recruiting goal; other services squeak by
The Army fell about 15,000 soldiers โ or 25% โ short of its recruitment goal this year, despite a frantic effort to make up the widely expected gap in a year when all the military services struggled in a tight jobs market to find young people willing and fit to enlist.
Air Force: Crew not at fault for Afghan deaths in evacuation
The Air Force has concluded that air crew members acted appropriately and were not at fault for some tragic deaths during the chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan last year, when desperate Afghans clung to a military plane as it was taking off and fell to their deaths or were caught in the wheels.
China makes semi-secret delivery of missiles to Serbia
Russian ally Serbia has taken delivery of a sophisticated Chinese anti-aircraft system in a semi-secret operation this weekend, amid Western concerns that an arms buildup in the Balkans at the time of the war in Ukraine could threaten the fragile peace in the region.
Army says nearly 98% got the COVID-19 vaccine by deadline
U.S. officials say all of the military services have now begun disciplinary actions and discharges for troops who have refused to get the mandated coronavirus vaccine, with as many as 20,000 unvaccinated forces at risk of being removed from service.
Air Force says nearly 8,500 miss deadline for COVID-19 shots
The Air Force says nearly 8,500 active duty members of the Air Force and Space Force have missed the deadline for getting COVID-19 vaccinations, including 800 who flatly refused and nearly 5,000 with pending requests for a religious exemption.
Military weighs penalties for those who refuse COVID vaccine
As deadlines loom for military and defense civilians to get mandated COVID-19 vaccines, senior leaders are wrestling with the fate of tens of thousands who flatly refuse the shots or are seeking exemptions, and how to make sure they are treated fairly and equally.
Report: Air Force women, minorities face harassment and bias
A new study finds that about a third of the female service members in the Air Force and Space Force say theyโve experienced sexual harassment and many can describe accounts of sexism and a stigma associated with pregnancy and maternity leave.
At Air Force One base, intruder given up by 'mouse ears'
President Joe Biden waves as he and first lady Jill Biden board Air Force One at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base in Houston, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. Officials said he never got close to Air Force One. Hours later, the man walked undetected onto the flight line by slipping through a fence designed to restrict entry. Said said the modified Boeing 747 that serves as Air Force One for presidential travel was never at risk and that it is kept behind more layers of protection at Andrews. He did no harm and the Air Force investigation report, which was heavily censored by the Air Force before it was released Thursday, concluded that he had no plan to cause harm to Air Force personnel or equipment.
THE JUMP: The Biggest Takeaways from the Dan Green Invitational
THE JUMP: The Biggest Takeaways from the Dan Green InvitationalSome interesting storylines came out of the Dan Green Invitational in The Woodlands over the weekend. VYPE caught up with pole vault champ Katie Schlather from The Woodlands, who jumped 12-feet. The Woodlands Kennedy Doakes is following in her father's footsteps. Ray Doakes was a decorated high jumper in his days at Arkansas and Kennedy will jump at Kansas. He has the state's best jump at 7-feet.
UAE weapons show draws major deals, traders amid pandemic
(AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)ABU DHABI โ In spite of the surging coronavirus pandemic, major arms makers descended Sunday on a convention center in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, hoping to make deals with militaries across the Middle East. The UAE unveiled $1.36 billion in local and foreign arms deals to supply its forces with everything from South African drones to Serbian artillery. Significant national pavilions were absent, including the United States, the worldโs largest arms exporter. AdโThe threats are obvious lately,โ said Walid Abukhaled, CEO of Saudi Arabian Military Industries Company, a holding company owned by the countryโs sovereign wealth fund. โIf Iran goes into a major rearmament program or starts to flex its muscles, thatโs where missile defense and air defense systems come in,โ he said.
Inspector general reviews Trump relocation of Space Command
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)DENVER โ The Department of Defense's inspector general announced Friday that it was reviewing the Trump administration's last-minute decision to relocate U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama. โMoving Space Command will disrupt the mission while risking our national security and economic vitality,โ the senators said in a joint statement. We fully support the investigation.โAmong other duties, the Space Command enables satellite-based navigation and troop communication and provides warning of missile launches. The Space Command differs from the U.S. Space Force, launched in December 2019 as the first new military service since the Air Force was created in 1947. The Space Command is not an individual military service but a central command for militarywide space operations.
Air Force orders new review into racial, ethnic disparities
FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2021, file photo Marine One, with President Joe Biden aboard, is seen past a member of the U.S. Air Force as it approaches Andrews Air Force Base, Md. The Air Force inspector general will do a second investigation into racial and ethnic disparities across the force, service leaders said Friday, expanding the review to include gender and additional racial categories such as Asian and American Indian. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)WASHINGTON โ The Air Force inspector general will do a second investigation into racial and ethnic disparities across the force, service leaders said Friday, expanding the review to include gender and additional racial categories such as Asian and American Indian. AdActing Air Force Secretary John Roth, who ordered the latest review, said the IG will go directly to Air Force and Space Force service members for input. โThe IG team has already begun to gather information contained in a wide array of previous reports, studies and various databases across the Department of the Air Force,โ Roth said.
The Latest: Nebraska-Maryland basketball game postponed
4 UConn says it also must reschedule Wednesdayโs womenโs basketball game against Seton Hall. The Villanova game was postponed because the Wildcats also are dealing with COVID-19 issues within their womenโs basketball program. ___Richmondโs menโs basketball team has paused team activities in response to the results from the latest COVID-19 testing and contact tracing. ___The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Tuesday that the Syracuse womenโs basketball game at Georgia Tech on Thursday has been postponed. ___The womenโs basketball game between No.
FBI warns of plans for nationwide armed protests next week
FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, violent protesters, loyal to President Donald Trump, storm the Capitol, in Washington. An internal FBI bulletin warned, as of Sunday, that the nationwide protests may start later this week and extend through Bidenโs Jan. 20 inauguration, according to two law enforcement officials who read details of the memo to The Associated Press. The FBI issued at least one other bulletin โ they go out to law enforcement nationwide on the topic โ before the riots last week. The talk of armed marches next week isn't limited to โradicalizedโ Trump supporters. It's certainly going to be a judgment call on the part of law enforcement about whether and when to intervene.โ___Kunzelman reported from College Park, Maryland.
Chuck Yeager, 1st to break sound barrier, dies at 97
Gen. Charles Yeager talks to members of the media following a re-enactment flight commemorating his breaking of the sound barrier 65 years earlier, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier, died Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, at age 97. Yeager died Monday, his wife, Victoria Yeager, said on his Twitter account. Among the flights he made after breaking the sound barrier was one on Dec. 12. President Harry S. Truman awarded him the Collier air trophy in December 1948 for his breaking the sound barrier. ___This version corrects that Yeager flew an F-15, not an X-15, when he was 79.
Mayor Turner hosts 23rd Annual โHouston Salutes American Heroesโ virtual celebration in honor of Veterans Day
HOUSTON โ The City of Houston will honor those who served in the United States Armed Forces during a special virtual Veterans Day celebration. Mayor Sylvester Turner will host the 23rd Annual Houston Salutes American Heroes, which will include a moment of silence. Turner will be joined by Dr. Steven Hall, director of the Mayorโs Office of Veterans Affairs, and representatives from each military branch. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this yearโs Veterans Day program will be virtual, with a limited number of guests invited to gather in person. The ceremony will begin at 10:45 a.m.
Cal-Washington game canceled after player's positive test
California doesnโt have the minimum number of scholarship players available for the game as a result of the positive test and the need for other players to isolate under contact tracing protocols, the Pac-12 said in a statement Thursday. Wilcox had said Wednesday night that the game was in jeopardy because of the large number of players needing contact tracing. The school said the player with a positive test is asymptomatic. This marked the first positive test on Calโs football team since practices began last month. This is the fourth time a Tulsa game has been postponed or canceled because of COVID cases.
Military suicides up as much as 20% in COVID era
The Pentagon refused to provide 2020 data or discuss the issue, but Army officials said discussions in Defense Department briefings indicate there has been roughly a 20% jump in overall military suicides this year. Pointing to increases in Army suicides, murders and other violent behavior, he added, โWe cannot say definitively it is because of COVID. โCOVID adds stress,โ said Gen. Charles Brown, the Air Force chief, in public remarks. But last year was the worst in three decades for active duty Air Force suicides. It's unclear how the military suicide rate this year compares with the civilian rate.
The Latest: Army football schedule includes Navy, Air Force
The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___Army has finalized its football schedule and the Black Knights will play 11 games, eight at home. The rest of the home slate includes Louisiana-Monroe, BYU, Abilene Christian, The Citadel, Mercer, Air Force and Georgia Southern. ___Duke will open its season for football and other fall sports with no fans at home games because of the coronavirus pandemic. The school will contact football fans who have purchased season or single-game tickets or have seating and suite contracts in Blue Devil Tower regarding potential options. The school will allow fans to purchase a fan cutout of a person or pet to be placed in seats for football games.
Germany welcomes Israeli air force for first joint exercise
A pilot from Israel, left, and a pilot from Germany, right, pose in front of an Eurofighter at the airbase in Noervenich, Germany, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020. Pilots from Israel and Germany will fly together the next two weeks during the first joint military Air Force exercises between the two nations in Germany. We work closely together, we do exercises together, German soldiers are being trained in Israel.Israeli Air Force pilot Lt. The Israeli pilots arrived at the base in western Germany on Monday for two weeks of exercises. They are conducting training with the German air force for the first week, and also with planes from the Hungarian air force in the second week.
Trump hosts swearing-in of first Black Air Force chief
President Donald Trump, watches as Vice President Mike Pence swears in Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., as Chief of Staff of the Air Force as his wife Sharene Guilford Brown holds the Bible in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)WASHINGTON President Donald Trump hosted the swearing-in of the first Black Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen. Charles Q. Vice President Mike Pence administered the oath of office to Brown, who was confirmed by the Senate in June in a 98-0 vote. Brown told Trump, It is a distinct honor for me to have this opportunity. He assumes the post later this week.
In a future bomber force, old and ugly beats new and snazzy
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. The Air Force sees it as a matter of money, numbers and strategy. The Air Force also is spending heavily on new fighters and refueling aircraft, and like the rest of the military it foresees tighter defense budgets ahead. A B-2 bomber scarred U.S.-China relations in 1999 when it bombed Beijings embassy in the Serbian capital of Belgrade, killing three people. The Air Force proposes to eliminate 17 of its 62 Lancers in the coming year.
More military bases increase health protections due to virus
The military, however, still has a dramatically low death rate, losing three active-duty service members out of nearly 23,000 virus cases so far. I find that each base does things a little bit different, and theyve adapted very carefully, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said when he traveled to Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri this week. The military has relied largely on its local commanders to make decisions about their base restrictions. For example, Army, Navy and Marine commanders had loosened restrictions at those bases in Japan, but reversed those decisions this month. Active-duty military cases of COVID-19 increased steadily through the spring, but began to escalate more sharply in June, jumping by about 3,000 or more a week.
Spencer Solves It: 71-year-old veteran facing eviction
HOUSTON At 71-years-old, Air Force Veteran Michael Blazewski struggles to make it inside the front door of his apartment in his wheelchair. I mean anything, even food right now, you cant pay your rent on time Blazewski said while shaking his head. Unable to work right now, Blazewski survives on social security payments, but over the last few months, he has fallen two months behind on his rent. So, if he doesnt pay the more than the $1,500 he owes in back rent, he will be evicted. Out of desperation, that is when he wrote to Spencer Solves It in hopes to avoid being thrown out of his apartment.
Esper order aims to expand diversity, skirts major decisions
WASHINGTON Defense Secretary Mark Esper took steps Wednesday to expand diversity within the military and reduce prejudice, but he skirted several major decisions, including whether to ban the Confederate flag at defense installations. President Donald Trump has flatly rejected any notion of changing base names, and has defended the flying of the Confederate flag, saying its a freedom of speech issue. The Marine Corps and U.S. commands in Korea and Japan have already banned display of the Confederate flag, saying it can inflame division and weaken unit cohesion. For example, he ordered the military to no longer include photos of service members when they are being considered by a promotion board. He also ordered a review of hairstyle and grooming policies, which all the military services have done multiple times in recent years.
Floyd death pushes military to face 'own demons' on race
A military Humvee blocks an intersection along K Street in downtown Washington as demonstrators protest the death of George Floyd, Monday, June 1, 2020, in Washington. Although the military historically has prided itself on diversity, leaders acknowledge that black troops often are disproportionately subject to military legal punishment and are impeded in promotions. Blacks make up about 17 percent of the Navy and less than 15 percent of the Air Force. But there is a much greater racial divide within the active duty military based on rank. Brown Jr., has been nominated to lead the Air Force, succeeding Gen. David Goldfein.
Floyd death pushes military to face 'own demons' on race
A military Humvee blocks an intersection along K Street in downtown Washington as demonstrators protest the death of George Floyd, Monday, June 1, 2020, in Washington. Although the military historically has prided itself on diversity, leaders acknowledge that black troops often are disproportionately subject to military legal punishment and are impeded in promotions. Blacks make up about 17 percent of the Navy and less than 15 percent of the Air Force. But there is a much greater racial divide within the active duty military based on rank. Brown Jr., has been nominated to lead the Air Force, succeeding Gen. David Goldfein.
Long-haul carrier Emirates says it fires staff amid virus
Dubais long-haul carrier Emirates said Sunday, May 31, 2020, that it fired an undisclosed number of employees as the coronavirus pandemic has halted global aviation. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)DUBAI Dubai's long-haul carrier Emirates said Sunday it fired an undisclosed number of employees as the coronavirus pandemic has halted global aviation, becoming the latest Mideast airline to shed staff over the outbreak. The carrier said it would treat fired staff with fairness and respect, without elaborating. Previously, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad and Doha-based Qatar Airways similarly fired staff as countries shut down their airspace as the virus spread. Dubai International Airport, the worlds busiest for international passengers that's home to Emirates, has been operating at a fraction of its usual pace.